


Matching

by wlw-dodie (Destiel__winchester)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, F/F, Fluff, Lesbian Allura (Voltron), M/M, Oblivious Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), You'll see what I mean, but also theres some angst, but it's fine cause so is keith, i guess, lance is in love and oblivious, pretty fluffy, she gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-21
Updated: 2017-12-21
Packaged: 2019-02-18 00:39:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13088799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Destiel__winchester/pseuds/wlw-dodie
Summary: ‘’I can’t just go up to Keith and say ‘Hey buddy, remember that rivalry I’m always hammering on about? Well, funny story, turns out that was totally just a coping mechanism I used to try and get over the stupid crush I had on you except it totally didn’t work and now I’m in love with you!’ can I?’’Lance is absolutely gone and he doesn't know what to do. Allura is heartbroken but maybe someone can change that. Keith is confused and completely oblivious as usual. Hunk just wants his friends to be happy. Shiro thinks Keith's pining is hilarious. Pidge and Matt are just in for the ride and Coran doesn't even know what's going on.-Or-Lance goes to Allura for advice about his little crush and discovers more than he expected





	Matching

**Author's Note:**

> This is the longest fic I have ever written in my life, I'm not even kidding. I put way too much effort into this thing it took me so long. 
> 
> There's more to it than just Allura and Lance talking but that's where it was supposed to end. It was just gonna be a short 2,000 word fic but I got way too into it. Did it ruin the fic? I don't know, probably. Anyway, enjoy this mess!

‘’Allura, do you think I could ask you something?’’ Lance fidgeted from foot to foot as he spoke, his finger nails bitten down to the skin. Looking up from the piece of equipment she was working on, Allura smiled at Lance until she realised something was wrong. Her face immediately changed as she took in Lance’s expression. His eyes looked anywhere but Allura’s face, the bags underneath them a dark hue of purple. The embarrassment behind his usually bright eyes spread to his posture, folding into himself rather than standing tall like usual.

‘’Of course, Lance. What’s wrong?’’ She asked, tapping the open seat next to her, encouraging Lance to join her. Hesitantly, his feet moved and he sat beside Allura who immediately turned her full attention to Lance. It was honestly quiet frightening, Lance had to admit.

‘’Jeez, Allura calm down. Man, you love your gossip more than I do,’’ Lance said, Allura scoffing.

‘’I do not! I just… Like… Information,’’ she muttered, lips pouted. At that, Lance giggled slightly, Allura cheering in delight.

‘’Aha! I made you laugh!’’ She beamed, shoving Lance’s shoulder playfully before standing up to sit on the floor in front of Lance. Instinctively, Lance’s hands began plaiting and weaving Allura’s hair as she smiled. It was practically tradition now for them to just wander into each other’s rooms and talk about anything and everything. Lance loved Allura’s hair and she always let him try out elaborate hairstyles that could differentiate from absolutely stunning to downright absurd. Other times, Lance would retrieve face masks from his bathroom and they’d both help each other put them on, more than often resulting in a play fight as they tried getting it on each other’s clothes. On occasion, Pidge had started banging on the door, their squeals of laughter turning into hushed chuckles in the dark.

‘’So… What’s Keith done this time?’’ Allura asked.

‘’W-what? Why’d you think this has anything to do with Keith?’’

‘’No reason. Well come on then, what’s wrong?’’ Lance continued effortlessly pulling together strands of Allura’s long, pearly hair as he let out a shaky breath. The room was silent for a while, except for the constant hum of the castle ship as Allura patiently waited for Lance to continue. She never rushed him, instead letting him take the time to pluck up the courage from somewhere deep in his stomach. Finally, after a few moments, a quiet voice spoke.

‘’Can you… Can you remember the first time you thought you loved someone?’’

Momentarily, Allura was taking aback, her mouth hung slightly agape at Lance’s words. However, she soon smiled, ever so slightly as she peered down at her crossed legs. Of course, she did.

‘’I do. I remember Father had organised a ball in the castle. I was talking to some guests when I felt a small tap on my shoulder…’’

_Allura turned around, a young altean woman smiling at her. A gasp escaped Allura’s lips as she took in the woman’s beauty. Violet markings etched the girl’s cheeks, her smile slight as she turned away, hoping the princess couldn’t see her flushed face. Her sparkling eyes finally looked back at Allura as she spoke up._

_‘’Princess Allura, I was hoping you’d like to share a dance with me?’’_

_Allura soon began blushing too, accepting the girl’s hand as she was whisked off towards the dance floor. She couldn’t remember how long they’d been dancing. It seemed like hours and hours of none stop laughter and flustered compliments until they finally stopped, their chests heavy with the need for air and something else. Soft purple met blue as they gazed at each other, Allura’s hands still draped around the girl’s neck. The music became numb buzzing in their ears, their surroundings unfocused and blurred. Finally, a soft voice pierced through the hum of music at the back of Allura’s mind as her gaze fell to her lips._

_‘’My name is Vina, by the way.’’_

_‘’Vina,’’ Allura muttered, the name effortlessly sliding off her tongue as she spoke, her world still stuck in a utopia. Begrudgingly, Allura pulled herself away from Vina, her hands making their way down her arms slower than necessary before she stopped at Vina’s hands. Intertwining their hands, Allura giggled as she moved backwards before letting go with one hand and tugging Vina off into the hallways with her._

‘’She’d visit every day after that. She practically lived here. I was absolutely smitten,’’ Allura gasped, her eyes bright with fond memories as she looked off in front of her. ‘’She was gorgeous, Lance! And funny! She used to always say one of her favourite things to do was make me smile.’’

For a while, Allura fell silent as she reminisced. Her face shone with nostalgia and love, eyes glistening as she looked off into the distance, a smile playing at her lips.

‘’I didn’t think I loved her. I knew I did. It took me a long time to even think about telling her how I felt. One day I decided I couldn’t handle keeping it a secret anymore. But then… Then I woke up from a 10,000 year sleep to find out-‘’ Allura sucked in a breath, her voice trembling as she choked back the river of tears threatening to flood her cheeks. Lance let out a silent gasp, his hands clenching momentarily in Allura’s hair before relaxing completely. He leaped forward, his arms draping over Allura’s shoulders from behind.

‘’Allura I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have even said anything, oh my God I’m-‘’

‘’Lance, it’s fine. I’m quite… Glad you got me to speak about it. I’ve not spoken about her in so long so it was nice to remember the good things,’’ she sniffed, eyes still prickled with tears. She felt a heavy weight on her head as Lance lay his chin there, giving her a small kiss on the head as he did so.  

‘’Well she sounds wonderful.’’ Allura smiled slightly at his words, eyes closing as she did so. Slowly, she let out a long, tired breath. She needed this. They needed this. To be able to sit and talk about whatever they wanted without fear of judgement. To be able to sit and let everything out and just cry if they wanted.

After a few moments of relaxed silence, Allura fiddling with Lance’s fingers and hands as he rested his chin on her head, eyes closed, Allura spoke up again. The darkness that had taken over the room as the castle lights dimmed created shadows over their skin, faces unseen but completely out in the open.

‘’So… Any particular reason you asked me to relive depressing memories?’’ At Lance’s sudden stillness and gasp, she giggled before adding ‘’I’m just kidding. I already said I didn’t mind. However, I am curious about why you asked it.’’ Sighing, Lance lifted his head slightly to speak.

‘’I… Think I might like… Someone.’’

‘’Who?’’

‘’I-‘’ Lance stopped. His heart pounded in his throat as the name attempted to latch on with claws and climb its way up, out of his mouth. But it got caught halfway, burning his throat. It wasn’t the idea of admitting to Allura that scared him. This would be the first time he’d said it ever out loud. To himself.

‘’Lance?’’ His mouth opened again at Allura’s words, but he clamped it back shut again, the word still catching in his throat when he tried. Allura sighed as she said, ‘’How about you describe them to me instead?’’

Relaxing again, Lance’s throat eased up, letting him speak again.

‘’They’re annoying. The absolute worst. They always do before they think and he’s constantly puts himself in danger which I hate because I hate seeing him hurt. My heart just clenches and my head gets dizzy and it makes me want to slap his stupid face and kiss it at the same time!” With heavy breath, he stopped his rambling. An exasperated sigh escaped his lips before he continued. ‘’But, he’s one of the best people I’ve ever met. He’s so talented and I don’t care what he says he’s not the edgy emo people make him out to be. And he’s gorgeous! God his eyes are some of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen I mean, holy quiznak! And his hair, Allura his hair. It looks so soft I just wanna run my hands through that stupid mullet I-‘’ Lance froze, his once clenched fists relaxing suddenly as he realised that he may or may not have totally given away who it was anyway.

‘’So it is about Keith?!’’ Allura whipped around as she spoke, causing Lance to stumble behind her. Spluttering and coughing, he landed ungracefully, half of his body crushing Allura. Groaning, she shoved Lance off her easily, earning a squawk of protest from the blue paladin.

‘’It is not-‘’ Allura raised a questioning eyebrow at him. He sighed. ‘’Okay fine maybe I’m… Slightly, terribly, unequivocally in love with Keith. Ya happy now?’’

‘’Most definitely,’’ Allura smirked, Lance groaning at her.

‘’Allura it is not funny!”

‘’Eh, it is a little bit.’’

‘’Allura!’’ Lance threw his arms up in the air before falling back, his head landing in Allura’s lap who playfully slapped his cheek. ‘’What do I do?’’

Allura frowned.

‘’Tell him?’’ An indignant squawk screeched in Lance’s throat at her suggestion, earning him another playful slap on the cheek. ‘’What? It’s not like that was an entirely impossible answer.’’

‘’Correction: That is in fact, a very impossible answer,’’ Lance began. ‘’I can’t just go up to Keith and say ‘Hey buddy, remember that rivalry I’m always hammering on about? Well, funny story, turns out that was totally just a coping mechanism I used to try and get over the stupid crush I had on you except it totally didn’t work and now I’m in love with you!’ can I?’’

‘’Yess?...’’ Allura noted Lance’s disappointed face. ‘’Nooo,’’ she corrected, shaking her head.  ‘’Why not?’’

‘’Because! It’s called dignity!’’

‘’Oh wow, you have that?’’ Allura giggled, earning her a shove that ended up much tamer than Lance had hoped from his awkward position lying on her lap. ‘’Look, it’s not that bad-‘’ Lance huffed in disagreement, Allura rolling his eyes at him. ‘’It’s not. He’s your friend, right?’’ Lance didn’t hesitate in nodding his head.

‘’Of course.’’

‘’Then there is no doubt in my mind that Keith would never get angry at you for this. It’s just like you said. He’s not an ‘edgy emo’ whatever that is. He just has walls up. And with how smitten he is with you already I-‘’

‘’Woah what?’’ Lance sat bolt upright, turning to look at Allura with wide eyes who stared back at him with furrowed brows. ‘’Let’s just rewind a bit. Who is smitten with who?’’ Allura’s eyes widened.

‘’Look, he’s not said anything to me exactly. But… Look he’s not very subtle about things.’’

‘’I haven’t noticed anything.’’

‘’Yes that’s because you’re stupid and oblivious.’’

‘’Rude-‘’

‘’But the point is!’’ Allura started before Lance could begin rambling again. ‘’I personally don’t think that your feelings are as unrequited as you think. And I’m sure if you asked anyone on this ship they’d agree with me. Look, I know more than anyone what it’s like to lose someone you love before they can ever truly understand how you feel. But you and Keith know that the life you live comes with risks. So, I say, take another one. What more harm could it do?’’

For a moment, Lance pondered Allura’s words. Then, he smiled softly, looking at the princess.

‘’Thank you, Lura.’’

‘’Your welcome Lancey Lance.’’ His smile grew at the use of his self-anointed nickname. ‘’Now, get out I have to have my beauty sleep before this big ball tomorrow.’’

‘’What? Look at you you’re gorgeous!’’ Allura smiled brightly, rolling her eyes. Just as the door slid open, Lance turned one last time to Allura.  ‘’Hey. There’s always another chance at love, Allura. And I know that you’ll find someone again.’’

And with that, he turned and left the room, his chest lighter and a spring in his step.

\--

The next morning, Lance strode into the kitchen of sorts to find everyone up and ready. Hunk, Pidge and Matt were chatting amongst themselves about something that would help them create more earth like food while Shiro seemed to be smiling painfully at a probably boring story Coran was telling. His eyes scanned the room for Allura, spotting the princess talking in hushed whispers to… Keith? Why the hell was she-

Oh no.

Immediately, Lance began hurrying his way over to the pair, Keith pushing his goo around the plate as he spoke to Allura. The chair screeched against the floor as Lance pulled it, making Pidge cringe opposite him. Dropping himself into the chair dramatically, Lance turned to Keith to find him looking directly at Lance. As soon as Lance noticed the red paladin however, Keith turned away, praying the blush on his cheeks was covered by his hair.

‘’Me and Keith were just talking about a small diplomatic mission I’d like him to go on today before the ball the Miors set up for Voltron. Why, did you think we were talking about something else, Lance?’’ Allura smirked, noting the flushed redness that overtook Lance’s features much like Keith. Lance shook his head at the princess who laughed quietly behind her hand. Keith, who had been silent since Lance showed up, turned back towards Lance as he spoke up.

‘’She wants me to go around checking everyone is okay. Pick up some stuff while I’m out. Do uhh-‘’ Keith swallowed, his eyes looking anywhere but Lance as his hand rested at the back of his neck. ‘’Do you wanna come with?’’

Lance froze. His eyes darted to Allura who was nodding her head adamantly behind Keith.

‘’Y-yeah I’d love to. I mean- Anything for Voltron, right?’’ Allura groaned, holding her head in her hands.

‘’Yeah, right.’’

The pair fell silent again, Coran placing a bowl of green goo in front of Lance who muttered a small thank you in return.

‘’Right, well. Of you two go then!’’ Allura said, pulling the pair out of their seats despite their confused disagreement. ‘’Come on, we haven’t got all day!’’ She said.

Lance whipped his head round to Allura as she ambushed them out of the room, his eyes asking all the questions. Leaning close, she whispered in his ear.

‘’Good luck.’’

Once the pair had left the castle, Allura sighed in triumph. The rest of the crew all looked at the princess in confusion who simply grinned back at them.

‘’Allura?’’ Hunk began. ‘’What are you up to?’’

‘’Oh, nothing.’’

‘’That doesn’t sound good.’’

 --

Lance and Keith had been wandering the streets of Miorna for what must have been half a varga in silence before one of them spoke up. Instead, they’d been listening to the crunch of rock underneath their feet as they walked, fully clad in paladin armour and watching the swirls of periwinkle clouds in the sky.

‘’So… A ball huh?’’

‘’Yeah,’’ Keith laughed an agreement. ‘’ I don’t know what these Miors are thinking.’’ Gasping, Lance held a hand to his heart in mock offence.

‘’How dare you!’’ He began, turning to walk backwards so he could look at Keith. ‘’I’ll have you know I am very skilled when it comes to the art of dancing thank you very much!’’

Rolling his eyes, Keith scoffed. ‘’Oh really?’’

‘’Yes!”

“Guess you’ll have to show me tonight then.’’

Lance stopped dead in his tracks at Keith’s words. Almost immediately, Keith realised what he’d said and began blushing brighter than his red armour. Just as he was about to open his mouth to protest his own words, Lance spoke up instead.

‘’I guess I will,’’ he said, falling back next to Keith as they continued walking down the bustling market place. He was positive he could see the ghost of a smile painted on Keith’s lips but he couldn’t be sure.

The pair continued walking, chatting as they did so. Occasionally, they’d stop to ask people how they were doing or to take the alien equivalent of a picture with people. Sometimes they forgot how famous the legend of Voltron was. As they walked past a shop, a large gasp caught their attention. Hands ready to grab their bayards, the two whipped around to find the source of the noise. A rather small, green skinned alien stood before them. They must have been slightly smaller than Keith, having to crane their neck slightly to look up at them.

‘’Paladins of Voltron! It is an honour to meet you! My name is Dariox,’’ The alien spoke, gargling their words as they rushed over to Lance and Keith.

‘’It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Dariox. I’m Lance, and this is Keith.’’

‘’Ahh yes, the famous blue and red paladin.’’ Lance grinned.

‘’Famous hey? I like the sound of that?’’ He said, earning him a slight shove from Keith.

‘’Why of course! The only paladins to have piloted two lions. That has never happened before!”

‘’Wait, really?’’ Keith asked. Dariox nodded their head forcefully before continuing.

‘’Never!” They said. ‘’Legend has it that the lions will only open to others who have strong bonds with the original paladin.’’ Lance nodded. That made sense. Keith had always been close to Shiro and he and Allura had become close friends since the start of Voltron. However, he soon began frowning. ‘’You two must have a very strong bond with each other.’’ Dariox said, answering Lance’s questions for him. Stuttering, Keith spoke up.

‘’I-it was lovely to meet you, but we must g-‘’

‘’Wait! Have you anything to wear to the ball tonight?’’ Keith and Lance shook their heads.

‘’We were just going to wear this,’’ Lance said, gesturing down to their paladin suits. Dariox gasped in horror, tutting to themselves before grabbing each of their hands and pulling them into a shop.

‘’No no no! That will not do. I shall tailor you some of the finest suits I have to offer!” They shouted, letting go of the paladins as they began rummaging through racks of clothing. ‘’Now let’s see… Blue and red, blue and red…’’ The alien wandered off somewhere deep into the shop, leaving Lance and Keith a flustered mess.

‘’What is happening?’’ Keith asked.

‘’I have… No idea.’’

With the alien gone, the pair decided to explore the shop. Long strips of soft, silky fabric danced from the ceiling, sparkling silvers and golds intertwined within the deep hues of colour. Above the racks of clothing, a huge chandelier glistened, sparkles of light reflecting on the walls and the paladins’ skin. The clothes lining the rack ranged from fanciful suits to things like scarves and hats. Strange, wiry, mannequins in the corners of the quaint shop held grand ball gowns that cascaded into flurries of colour and glitter. It should have felt stuffy and claustrophobic, but the pair couldn’t help but be blown away by the sheer beauty of the shop. 

Eventually, Dariox came tumbling out of a rack of clothing, causing Keith and Lance to jump. Lance felt himself blush as Keith grabbed his arm softly at the sudden jolt, Lance’s own hand moving to cover Keith’s. The alien seemed to be holding two separate suits of red and blue, traces of silver and gold lining the both of them. Hurriedly, they threw the suits at the two and shoved them towards a cramped pair of changing rooms in the corner. 

‘’Now, try these on. Come, on!’’ Lance shrieked as Dariox gave him one final shove into the changing room, Keith snickering until they did the same to him.

Lance hopped around, struggling to get into the suit in such a tight space. A thump from his side caused him to stumble back himself, Keith groaning through the wall. Lance hissed as his head hit the mirror, one leg still struggling to stay in the tight suit. Finally, he sighed as he managed to get it on, grinning as he took in his own reflection. He didn’t look to bad, if he said so himself.

The suit, a dark almost navy blue, flared out at the bottom of the pants, silver glitter dancing up the sides. The soft material hugged his legs, comfortable despite being so tight. The top half of the suit was his favourite. The shirt left his arms uncovered except for the spiralling bangle that wound its way up his arm. The top acted like a choker, silver and sparkling on his neck before melting away back into the dark blue. The sides of it were missing, holes cut out where his hips lay. The suit jacket, lined with silver jewels, also left his arms naked, buttoning at the top before flaring out into a sweeping cape. A knock on the wall brought his attention back, turning around quickly.

‘’I’m coming!” He said, pulling back the curtain to see Dariox grinning devilishly as he saw how Lance looked. Lance frowned. ‘’What?’’

‘’Oh this is going to be good,’’ they said, knocking on the wall by Keith’s changing room. Sighing, Keith pulled back the curtain and stepped out. Lance physically felt himself stop breathing. He looked… beautiful. However, something bugged Lance about their suits. His eyes widened as he realised.

Their suits _matched_.

Keith’s suit, much like Lance’s left his arms uncovered, a golden bangle travelling up his arm. The only differences that Lance could tell were that:

1)      Keith’s suit was red

2)      He was still wearing those god damn gloves and

3)      His shirt was a freaking _crop top_

Lance couldn’t help it okay. Before he knew what he was doing the words were tumbling out of his mouth.

‘’Wow…’’

‘’What? What’s wrong with it do I look stupid?’’ Keith asked, his arms crossing over his chest. Lance shook his head adamantly.

‘’No you look… Amazing,’’ he breathed, eyes focused on Keith. Keith seemed to choke on air at Lance’s words, his cheeks as red as that gorgeous freaking suit.

‘’Are you serious?’’

‘’Hell yeah I’m serious!” Lance said, all composure flying out the window. Too late now, he thought. Keith smiled slightly as Lance spoke, his eyes trained on the floor. Looking up, he grinned.

‘’You don’t look to bad yourself, Sharpshooter.’’

This time, it was Lance’s turn to blush as Keith looked at him. The pair stayed there for ages, just staring at each other in awe, until Keith’s eyebrows furrowed and he turned to look at Dariox

‘’Do our suits match?’’

‘’Of course they do! I saw these on the rack and knew they’d be perfect for the pair of you. One of a kind suits for a one of a kind couple.’’ Lance and Keith spluttered at their words, both of them talking over one another as they tried to explain.

‘’We’re not a-‘’

‘’No we’re not together I mean-‘’

‘’That’s not-‘’

‘’We’re just friends.’’  Lance managed to say, eventually, Dariox smirking suspiciously. He didn’t seem to notice the way Keith sighed, curling in on himself.

‘’Right… well, once you’ve taken them off and returned to your castle, be sure to bring the rest of your team here, I’m sure I can give them all something for tonight’s ball.’’

Once the pair had changed back into their armour, they thanked Dariox as they retreated from the store, a box in each of their hands as they walked back to the castle, the first sun beginning to set.

\--

As the others decided to head off to the shop to speak to Dariox, Lance and Keith were left alone, in charge of the castle ship as everyone got themselves an outfit for the ball. The two found themselves in the kitchen, Lance sat on the counter as Keith ate some food goo.

‘’So what do you want to do while we wait?’’ Lance asked, looking at Keith who just stared back.

‘’Eat. I want to eat.’’

‘’Oh come on Mullet, I’m bored! Let’s do something fuuuuunnnn,’’ he moaned, dragging out the end of the sentence as he shoved Keith slightly. Frowning, Keith shoved him back.

‘’Go and do something then Lance.’’ And with that, the pair fell back into silence, Lance frowning in confusion. What was up with Keith all of a sudden? Ever since they’d gotten their suits he’d been acting awkward around Lance. He began tracing back everything that had happened, recounting all their steps from the shop back to the castle.

_‘’One of a kind suits for a one of a kind couple.’’_

Lance’s shoulders dropped. Was the idea of being a couple really that taxing on Keith? Did he really hate Lance that much? Chancing a glance back at Keith, Lance’s heart stilled as he realised Keith had been looking at him. Coughing, he turned away again and continued eating his food goo, leaving Lance utterly perplexed as he sighed, retreating back to his room. He could have sworn he has heard Keith sigh, but he ignored it. But just as he got to the door, a small voice spoke up, a hint of something warm and mischievous laced within it. 

‘’Hey Lance.’’

‘’Yeah? What-‘’ Lance shrieked as a large heap of food goo flew his way, landing directly on his face. As he wiped away the green mess from his eyes, he noticed Keith, hunched over as he laughed uncontrollably.

‘’The look… On your face!” Keith giggled, Lance’s heart skipping a beat at the noise. As much as he wanted to be, he honestly couldn’t be mad. He was just glad Keith wasn’t being awkward around him again.

‘’What was that for?!”

‘’I thought you wanted to do something fun?’’ Keith asked, spinning the spoon between his fingers, an innocent look etched on his face. Lance smirked.

‘’Oh is that what you want?’’ Lance asked, moving towards the food goo machine. As Keith realised what he was doing, he stood up straight, eyes wide in fear.

‘’No, Lance don’t I-‘’ His sentence got cut off as Lance turned on the machine, food goo knocking Keith over.

 Soon, the paladins were in a full-blown food fight. Green piles of goo clung to the walls and the ceiling (Keith was very competitive) as they continued flinging the stuff at each other. On one occasion Lance managed to catch the goo in his mouth, cheering as he did so before he was knocked over by an extremely large heap of the goo. Keith laughed again, Lance forgetting where he was momentarily as he listened to it. It was very quickly becoming one of his favourite things in the world. After a very artfully missed attack from Lance, Keith grabbed his bowl of food goo from the table and threw it at Lance who effortlessly dodged the attack.

‘’Is that all you got, Keith?’’

Standing from his hiding place behind a knocked over chair, Keith rolled the sleeves of his jacket up as he charged at Lance. Screaming, Lance’s arms snuck around Keith’s waist as they both fell down into a giggling heap. Keith sat up slightly from his place on top of Lance whose hands were still wrapped around Keith. As Lance opened his eyes, his laughter completely stopped once he realised just how close they both were. The only noises they could hear were the constant hum of the ship and their own breathless gasps. And Keith wasn’t moving. He stayed there, straddling Lance who stared at him wide eyed. And then he did move. Slowly, Lance noticed as he began moving closer and closer.

‘’Keith,’’ he gasped, still breathless as the red paladin’s eyes fluttered shut. Lance’s hands made their way to wrap around Keith’s neck once he realised that Keith was definitely not stopping. Not that Lance was complaining. Lance’s eyes fell shut as the ghost of lips brushed his own and he completely lost it. He sighed, pulling Keith in closer as their lips finally melted together. Keith’s hands rested at each side of Lance’s head, shaking as he gasped into the kiss. They both had no idea what they were doing but they didn’t care as Keith bit Lance’s lip, a moan escaping the blue paladin. It was messy as their teeth clashed but they were unfazed, the kiss deepening with every movement, Lance’s hands pulling at the back of Keith’s hair.

A door opened and the kiss broke, both of them gasping for air as they struggled to untangle themselves from each other. Shiro, Allura and Coran strolled in with their bags of clothes, noticing the utter mess of the kitchen before they noticed the two paladins, Keith still sat on top of Lance.

‘’What on ear- Oh,’’ Shiro said, taking in the sight as Keith looked away from his prying eyes. Allura whipped her head round to see where he was looking. As she took it in, her face shifted from one of anger to utter delight as she made eye contact with Lance. She looked from Keith to Lance twice, Lance’s face begging her not to say anything to which she simply held her hands up in surrender.

‘’What’s up why the heck are you all so quiet?’’ Hunk asked as he stumbled into the room. Unlike the others the first thing he noticed were the two paladins, still frozen in place as Keith looked away from everyone. All Hunk could do was sigh, sending Lance a sympathetic look who just groaned as he banged his head against the floor.

‘’What? Did Lance and Keith finally kill each other or did they-‘’ Pidge began as her and Matt ran in, tumbling into Hunk. ‘’Oh… They did the other thing, huh?’’ She asked, Matt shoving her in the ribs as he giggled quietly.

Suddenly realising the situation, Keith scrambled off Lance. Once he was up, he held a hand out for Lance who accepted the help, squeaking in shock as Keith yanked him onto his feet.

‘’Sorry guys. We’ll clean up now,’’ Lance said sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck as Keith scowled, crossing his arms.

‘’Thank you, Lance. Once you’re finished go and get ready,’’ Shiro said, ushering everyone out of the kitchen. Once everyone left, Keith sighed, relaxing against the counter. Turning away from Lance, he got to work cleaning the sides, refusing to make eye contact with the other. They worked in silence, Lance occasionally glancing over to Keith.

‘’Look, Keith-‘’

‘’I don’t want to talk about it, Lance.’’

‘’What?’’ Lance stopped sweeping the floor, turning to look at Keith instead. ‘’Keith we can’t ignore what just happened. We- We-‘’

‘’Kissed? Yeah, I know, Lance.’’ He muttered, still refusing to look at Lance. ‘’What else do you want me to say?’’

‘’I-‘’ Lance faltered. He stopped, eyes falling to the floor, still sticky with goo. Keith Sighed.

‘’Just… Go get ready, Lance. I’ll finish up in here.’’

Lance nodded, despite Keith being unable to see him. Begrudgingly, he began walking out of the door. But he stopped. For a moment he stayed there, his thoughts whizzing around in his mind as he shook his head. Turning, he strode over to Keith and spun him around.

‘’Do you regret it?’’ He asked. Keith froze, eyes settling on Lance’s strained features.

‘’What?’’

‘’The kiss. Do you regret it? Cause last time I checked you’re the one that initiated it,’’ Lance explained, matter of factly. Keith silenced, his face burning up. Lance waited, his arms folded as he hoped for a specific answer. When he got none, he laughed weakly.

‘’Right. Stupid question. See ya, Keith.’’

Lance walked out, stopping just outside the door.

‘’Come on…’’ He hoped, but no one followed him out. No one ran from the kitchen, shouting for him to wait as they grabbed his face and kissed him like they did in the movies. Instead, Lance was left alone as he retreated in dejected silence back to his room.

\--

 ‘’I just… I feel so stupid, Allura.’’ Lance brushed her cheeks softly with the brush as he spoke, eyes focused on her makeup even though his brain wasn’t. She sighed, eyes closed as she spoke.

‘’Lance, don’t feel stupid. He’s clearly… Confused.’’

‘’Confused?’’

‘’Right. Look Lance, you just have to give him time to sort his feelings out.’’ She explained, groaning as Lance grabbed her face and moved it to the side. ‘’He probably has no idea how he feels right now so just… Don’t give up.’’

‘’I know but- stay still- I can’t help but wonder. What if he hates me?’’ Lance’s tongue stuck out in concentration as he began steadily drawing Allura’s eyeliner. But his words seemed to amuse the princess who began choking with laughter, the eyeliner smudging right across her face.

‘’S-sorry I just!” She continued laughing for a while, Lance trying to mend the mess on her face. ‘’Keith doesn’t hate you. That, I am sure of.’’ Her laughing eased off, allowing Lance to continue with the makeup, this time keeping a hand tightly gripped on her shoulder.

‘’You think so?’’

‘’Lance he kissed you! That’s not something you do to someone you hate. For example, I wouldn’t kiss you.’’

‘’Hey!” Lance exclaimed, slapping her shoulder playfully. Finally, he finished the eyeliner, cheering in triumph before moving onto her lipstick. They stayed quiet as he painted the lipstick onto her lips, Allura watching Lance with worry. Finally, he finished, fluffing her hair slightly as he took in his work.

‘’You look amazing!” Allura turned to the mirror and gasped, fingers lightly tracing over her face as she looked at Lance’s efforts.

‘’Lance… It’s wonderful. Thank you!” She yelled, ambushing Lance with a hug who chuckled as he returned it.

‘’No worries, princess. You’re definitely gonna catch the eyes of an alien babe out there tonight,’’ he said, winking. Allura shoved him out of the room in order to put on her dress, laughing as she did so.

Meanwhile, in Keith’s room, said paladin had just finished putting on his suit when he heard a knock on his door. Sighing, he shouted for them to come in.

‘’Hey, pal- woah nice outfit! Totally different to any of ours.” Keith turned as he finished putting on the bangle, finding Hunk in his own suit. It was a pale yellow with white marking running up the sides, huge padded shoulder on the suit jacket.

‘’Thanks, Hunk. Yours is pretty cool too.’’

‘’Thanks. The shopkeeper tried me in another one but I preferred this one. The shoulders are pretty neat,’’ he said, shimmying his shoulders slightly in an effort to make Keith laugh. Sighing, Hunk took a seat on Keith’s bed, the other following suit.

‘’Look Keith, I know that Lance can be… Tough to deal with. But I know my best friend and I don’t want him getting hurt,’’ he explained, looking directly at Keith who seemed to shrink under the firm look he was giving him.

‘’What are you talking about? What has Lance said?’’ He asked, panicked.

‘’Nothing but, I know him. And as strange as it may seem I know you too, Keith. We’ve been stuck together in space for the equivalent of about two years now,’’ Hunk explained as Keith refused to look at him. ‘’No, Keith look at me. I know both of you. Which means I know that you’re probably completely oblivious to everything that’s going on. Lance is too. But I swear to God, if you hurt him Keith-‘’

‘’I’d never intentionally hurt him, Hunk.’’ Keith’s voice wavered as he spoke. Hunk may look like a big soft giant and he is. But Keith knows better than to get on the wrong side of him.

‘’Yeah, intentionally being the key word.’’ Hunk said, looking pointedly at Keith. ‘’Hey, things will work out. I’m not stupid, okay? I know something happened earlier that you’re not telling the rest of us.’’

Keith sighed in relief as he watched Hunk get up to leave. But just as the door opened, he turned back to Keith.

‘’Be careful. For yours and Lance’s sake.’’ And with that, he left, leaving a very confused Keith slightly terrified and with a lot to think about.

 --

‘’This place is huge!” Coran exclaimed, arms extended as they stood outside the Mior's palace. It seemed to glisten in the moonlight, crystals adorning the golden turrets that towered over them.

Everyone’s outfits for the ball had been specially chosen by the shop owner, spending plenty of time with each person to determine what they would like. Shiro wore a dark black suit that swirled with purple, the jacket trailing all the way down to the floor. Allura’s pastel pink dress cascaded in jewels and diamonds that glistened, a matching tiara on her head and satin gloves on her hands. Pidge’s green jumpsuit became darker the longer it became, her pants flowing out at the bottom with her heels just visible. A cape attached to the suit trailed on the floor slightly behind her. Matt’s suit was a very dark green, a black shirt underneath the jacket which cut off just past his elbows. Coran’s suit was a blinding orange to match his hair, matching gloves on his hands and a sparkling bow tie.

‘’Let’s go everyone. And remember to behave, we don’t want to tarnish Voltron’s reputation,’’ Shiro said, ready to guide the others in. But as the guards readied themselves to open the door for the team, Matt stopped.

‘’Guys. Where are Lance and Keith?’’

‘’Lance said he’d meet us here once he’d finished my makeup. He still needed to get ready.’’ Allura explained.

‘’Okay. But where’s Keith?’’ Shiro added, his hand moving to pull out the altean contact device Allura had given each of them. Choosing Keith’s contact, he waited for his face to pop up.

No answer.

Sighing, Shiro rang it again, his face creasing in agitation as he awaited an answer. But still nothing. Pidge groaned, her feet tapping and her legs bouncing beside Matt who rolled his eyes at her. Frustration burning in her eyes, she flipped out her own device and pulled up Lance’s name.

‘’Lance when you’re ready remind Keith we have a god damn ball to go to!’’ Lance’s face contorted on the screen, shocked by such a blunt greeting. For a tiny little fifteen-year-old she could be terrifying.

‘’What, he’s not there?’’

‘’Nope. Find him and make sure he’s with you when you get here. We’ll be in the palace,’’ she said, ready to turn off the device. She stopped quickly, looking back at Lance. ‘’And hurry up!... Please.’’

 --

Lance sighed as Pidge’s hologram disappeared, the wrist device turning off. He began banging on Keith’s door.

‘’Keith, come on man!” He yelled, Keith moaning on the other side. ‘’I know you’re mad at me right now but-‘’

‘’It’s not because of you, I just…’’ He thought about asking Lance about what Hunk had meant. He had too many questions swarming in his head that he needed answers to before they ate away at the entirety of his brain. Was Hunk bluffing? Did he really know what had happened? Why did he kiss Lance? Did Lance like the kiss? Did he like Keith?

Did Keith like Lance?

His breath hitched at the thought. Something that had once been a passing thought in his brain that he always dismissed as ridiculous suddenly became a very real possibility that began clouding his mind, memories being pulled out that seemed to fit together like puzzle pieces. They made his eyes widen and his face heat up, his stomach churning with something he knew wasn’t sickness. Lance’s smile crossed his mind and Keith smiled slightly himself before he dragged himself back to reality. His reality. It hit him like a waterfall. It began gradually, things fitting together in his head until it began to feel like he was drowning in his own thoughts. His mind cleared as he heard a knock on the door.

‘’Keith? You okay?’’

Lance jumped as the door to Keith’s room opened, the red paladin walking out. Lance had to compose himself again at the sight of Keith in the suit, his stomach flipping involuntarily.

‘’It doesn’t matter, let’s go.’’ Keith said, shoving past Lance. But Lance wasn’t having it. Grabbing his wrist, Lance turned Keith around who stumbled against Lance’s chest.

‘’Keith? What’s wrong-‘’

‘’Nothing. Seriously, I’m… I’m fine.’’ Keith smiled assuredly at Lance. Not wanting to make him angry, Lance dropped it as they made their way to the palace. Neither of them spoke the entire way there. They just stayed completely silent as Lance kicked at a rock, unaware of Keith’s often glances towards him. Once there, they were shocked by a loud greeting that made Keith jump out of his skin.

‘’The red and blue paladin!” Dariox yelled, shaking Keith and Lance’s hands. ‘’You both look wonderful, of course. And entering the ball together! What a way to make an entrance!” Lance and Keith seemed to freeze at their words. They hadn’t thought of that. If the shop owner had thought they were together just by standing next to each other imagine what it’d be like walking into a ball together.

In matching suits.

Jesus, this was gonna be interesting.

‘’We can do this, right?’’

‘’Sure.’’

‘’Want to walk in holding hands?’’ Lance asked laughing, Keith spluttering at Lance’s words. ‘’I’m kidding, mullet.’’ Keith rolled his eyes as Lance ran up to the door, the guards opening it for the paladins. As they walked in and prepared to walk down the staircase, Keith couldn’t help but smirk as Lance tried to high five a guard.

‘’God, you utter dork.’’ Keith muttered to himself, his hand reaching to scratch at his neck. Lance turned.

‘’What did you say, buddy?’’

‘’Nothing.’’

As team Voltron began greeting more guests, Allura became more and more agitated. Her eyes constantly shifted to the staircase, waiting to see the red and blue paladin. Every time something moved in her peripheral vision she’d gasp and turn, frowning when she’d realise it wasn’t them. Strangely enough, Hunk seemed to be doing the same next to her, both of them too enveloped in finding the pair than greeting the guests.

As Allura bent down to greet a small child, she felt the crowds around her freeze. Beside her, she heard Hunk and Shiro gasp. The room fell into a shocked silence, the young child in front of her looking in astonishment at something as he peered behind her. A hand gripped her shoulder and as she looked, she noticed Coran looking off towards the entrance. Whipping around, she realised what everyone was looking at.

‘’Holy crap.’’

Matt and Pidge’s simultaneous words were the only noise heard as Lance and Keith stood at the top of the grand staircase that cascaded in front of them. Keith’s eyes shifted, refusing to look directly at the masses of people but Lance took it all in as he smiled. It was at that moment Allura decided she was going to kill Lance.

He hadn’t told her that their suits matched.

Apparently, she was in the same unaware boat as the others as they all looked on in utter disbelief. Hunk crossed his arms over his chest, a knowing smirk etched on his face. The masses of citizens watched in awe as they took their first steps down the cascading stairs.

But Keith stopped.

He felt the pressure in his chest before anything else. His ears began ringing as he looked at the oceans of faces all staring at him. Too much it was too much-

He felt something warm envelope his hand. Looking down, he saw fingers intertwined with his own against the darkness of his gloves and when he looked back up, Lance was smiling that stupid smile that made Keith’s heart stop.  

‘’Okay so maybe I wasn’t joking.’’ Keith couldn’t help it. He laughed. Relief washed over him, and he let it out as he giggled beside Lance who was snickering himself.

During the entire walk down, Keith’s eyes stayed focused on Lance. He watched the boy as he kept his gaze forward, the echo of a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. The hand in his own seared even against his leather gloves, wanting nothing more than to rip them off and feel Lance’s hand firmly in his own. Instead, he settled for a soft squeeze which Lance reciprocated, gently. As he did so, his eyes shifted to look at Keith who turned away, blushing. Lance smirked before turning back to their friends once they made it to the bottom where they were greeted by a mixture of confused and astonished faces.

‘’Hey guys. What’d we miss?’’

Lance’s question was met with even more stunned silence from their team while the aliens around them had already continued on with their own business, their chatter echoing through the ballroom.

‘’What?’’ Lance asked. Shiro was the first to speak up.

‘’Your suits-‘’

‘’Match.’’  Lance laughed as Hunk finished Shiro’s sentence for him.

‘’Oh yeah, Dariox was pretty adamant about us wearing them. Pretty cool, huh?’’

‘’God, you two are sickeningly cute,’’ Pidge remarked, earning her a shove from Matt and a reprimanded hush from Shiro. Keith stayed silent, folding in on himself as Lance spluttered and choked his way through a sentence.

‘’Wh- no we’re not Pidge- I mean- That’s a couple’s thing and we’re- I’m not- Shut up!”

And just like that, Keith’s world seemed to tumble like an avalanche before him. Everything piled up into confusing heaps of contradicting glances and actions, telling him one thing one minute and another the next. His mild utopia was shattered as he listened to Lance’s stuttered reminders.

_You’re not a couple, Keith. He doesn’t like you like that._

**_But he kissed back?_ **

Keith sighed.

_It doesn’t matter._

He pushed himself out of his arguing thoughts, scoffing as he pushed past Lance to be somewhere else. Anywhere else. Lance watched his back, a hand subconsciously reaching out before retracting. Instead, he brought it to his head, the heel of his hand pressing into his forehead as he scolded himself.

‘’Well you two certainly have some stuff to talk about.’’

‘’Shut up, Pidge.’’

‘’Yeah shut up, Pidge,’’ Hunk agreed.

Sighing, Shiro made his way past the group, his hand resting assuredly on Lance’s shoulder for a moment.

‘’I’ll go talk to him,’’ he said, Lance’s smile never really meeting his eyes. But it was enough for Shiro who smiled back and ran slowly after Keith.

Keith grumbled as he slumped down on one of the golden encrusted chairs surrounding the ballroom dance floor. Groaning, he began muttering at himself as he rubbed his eyes. He never seemed to notice Shiro stood before him, a slight smirk on his face as he listened to Keith’s incoherent talk.

‘’Stupid, stupid, stupid-‘’

‘’You sound like you’re having fun.’’ Startled, Keith jumped slightly before relaxing once he realised it was Shiro who just laughed at the shocked look on his face. As he sat down beside his friend, he handed him a glass of a mysterious looking green drink that sparkled with bubbles. Generously, Keith took it and downed the entire thing. It was alcoholic. Thank God.

‘’Jeez, calm down Keith. Should I have given you that?’’ Shiro’s eyes widened. ‘’I shouldn’t have given you that.’’

‘’What are you, my Dad?’’ Shiro chuckled slightly to himself, taking a sip of his own drink as he sat back, watching the surrounding aliens talking amongst themselves. He took a glance at Keith who was subtly watching Lance across the room. He rolled his eyes as he watched Lance laugh and joke with Pidge and Hunk, completely unaware of how mad Keith was. The guy just didn’t see it. Just didn’t understand how frustrating he could be. How contradicting his own actions were to someone so head over heels in love with him. Suddenly, Keith gasped and sat up, his own thoughts shocking him. He knew his feelings were definitely not strictly platonic but-

_Holy crap. I **love** Lance._

Shiro giggled beside him, taking another sip. ‘’Took you long enough to realise.’’

‘’Did I say that out loud?’’

‘’Sure did, buddy.’’

‘’Crap.’’ Shiro sighed before continuing.

‘’Keith. Stop beating yourself up over this stuff. Just because you’re a defender of the universe,’’ Shiro made quotation marks with his free hand. ‘’It doesn’t mean that’s all you have to care about. You can care about other things- other people- too.’’ Keith groaned, running a hand through his hair in distress as he sucked in a breath.

‘’No, I can’t,’’ he looked around before continuing in a hushed whisper ‘’I can’t love Lance, okay? Because love is messy and wonderful, and I’ve never felt this way about anyone ever before and of course of all the people it had to be it had to be Lance. The one guy that fucking hates me I-‘’

‘’Keith slow down,’’ Shiro breathed, placing his glass down so he could rest his hands on Keith’s shoulders. ‘’Lance doesn’t hate you, Keith. Why do you think that? He kissed you, didn’t he?’’

‘’No I kissed him but-‘’ Keith paused, Shiro smirking in triumph as he moved his arms to cross them over his chest. ‘’How did you know that?’’

‘’Wild guess. Thanks for the confirmation, though. Anyway, back on track: He kissed you back, right?’’

‘’Well, yeah but-‘’

‘’But what?’’

‘’But that doesn’t mean anything!” Shiro slumped, pinching the bridge of his nose just where his scar lay. He knew Keith was a bit oblivious but come on. Who seriously thinks that consensually kissing someone back doesn’t mean anything? Keith. Keith does. Turning, Shiro looked over to where Lance was. He watched as Lance laughed at an alien’s joke, his hands raising into their signature finger guns stance. But as soon as the attention was off him, his entire stance changed. His eyes drooped and he caved in on himself, arms crossed as his feet tapped impatiently on the floor. He was waiting for Keith. Shiro laughed silently to himself. These two were crazy for each other.

‘’Keith, I don’t know what you’ve been seeing, but that guy is just as in love with you as you are with him. Look at him, Keith.’’ His eyes followed Shiro’s vague hand gesture to find Lance looking the most nervous Keith had ever seen him. ‘’He knows you’re mad at him, but you can’t expect him to know why if you don’t tell him how you feel. You’re breaking yourself and him, Keith.’’

Once Shiro finished his little motivational speech, Keith let his eyes wander back over to Lance. Who was looking straight back at him. Keith gasped as they made eye contact, the heat rising in his stomach as he watched him. Lance smiled slightly at Keith who returned the favour with a small wave. It took everything in Keith not to run up there that very moment and kiss him when he watched Lance’s eyes light up and his whole demeanour change within seconds. Instead, Keith just laughed, shaking his head as he blinked back surprising tears that were tickling his eyes. Shiro smiled as he looked over at Lance before ruffling Keith’s hair.

‘’Well, I’m gonna go and make sure Pidge doesn’t hurt herself or anyone else and I’ll leave you to it.’’ Shiro waved as he began walking off but he stopped, turning back round to Keith with a smirk. ‘’By the way. Lovely description of love there, Keith. Didn’t think you had it in you.’’ And with that, Shiro left a stuttering, blushing Keith alone on the table as he began replaying their conversation in his head.

_You’re breaking yourself and him, Keith._

Standing, he shook the thought from his head and followed Shiro into the waves of aliens.

\--

‘’And then my father-‘’ Allura struggled to breathe as she giggled hysterically through her tears of joy. ‘’My father walked in and saw Coran holding me upside down and-‘’ Another burst of laughter. ‘’And he just walked back out again!”

The surrounding aliens roared with laughter at Allura’s anecdote, the noise buzzing in Keith’s ears. He laughed along with them, but his mind was elsewhere, his eyes following. Occasionally, he’d find himself gazing at Lance opposite him beside Allura. Other times, he’d feel the burn of a gaze on his neck whenever he looked away, knowing Lance was looking at him. He knew he should apologise but the curdling nausea pitted deep in his stomach made him hesitate. Every time Lance’s smile or laugh danced in Keith’s mind it sent his heart into a rage and his stomach into a twist, knocking any confidence or ability to speak right out of him. It was so infuriatingly warm and it was all Lance’s fault. It was all Lance’s fault Keith turned into a fumbling mess whenever he was near. But Keith couldn’t get enough of it. Couldn’t get enough of Lance.

As the aliens dispersed, Keith made his way over to a table where the others sat. Pidge was giggling at Matt and Hunk who appeared to be in an intense arm wrestle (Hunk was winning, no question of a doubt) while Shiro watched on in fond amusement. Coran fiddled with the hem of Allura’s dress as she sat down, rolling her eyes at him. She began laughing at Coran’s pout but she gasped when she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. Whipping around, she found the princess of Miorna, Lalayla, smiling at her. The gasp that escaped Allura caught Lance’s attention, who followed her charmed gaze up to the princess. Her light blue skin looked so soft under the gentle lights of the palace, her lips curved into a smile aimed at Allura who blushed, furiously.

‘’Princess, I couldn’t help but notice that you haven’t danced yet tonight and was wondering if you’d give me the honour of letting me dance with you.’’ Her suave and composed exterior seemed to crumble slightly, her voice squeaking and her cheeks tinting purple with embarrassment. Allura only blushed deeper as she accepted the hand offered to her and was whisked away onto the dance floor. Momentarily, she turned back, her face full of delight as she looked at Lance who pressed both his hands against his heart in an adoring fashion.

Lance watched as the two princesses danced together, their conversation flowing as Allura’s arms wrapped around Lalayla’s neck. His heart swelled as he watched the pair, so happy that Allura was finally getting to live a little. But he paused, eyes subtly shifting to Keith who was watching the princesses with such intent and adoration, Lance didn’t even think before he stood up and walked over. Hoping that his shaking limbs weren’t obvious, Lance held a hand out to Keith who looked up at him in shocked awe. Lance simply smiled, sheepishly.

‘’I did say I’d show you, didn’t I?’’

Keith’s heart skipped a beat as he remembered their previous conversation, his eyes widening as he realised what Lance was asking him. Slowly, his hand reached out for Lance’s and before he knew it and before his heart could catch up, he was being whisked off onto the ballroom floor. As Lance’s hand traced its way down to Keith’s waist, the other intertwined with his gloved hand and Keith found his hand placing itself firmly on Lance’s shoulder. Lance’s eyes looked at Keith in an intrigued shock, expecting Keith to have no idea what he was doing. As the next song began, Lance immediately took lead and the pair began gliding across the floor, Keith easily following Lance’s intricate stepping without ever having to look down. Instead, his eyes stayed focused on Lance whose shock had turned into delight as he began to pick up the pace and Keith hoped Lance couldn’t hear how loud and how fast his heart was beating because he certainly could.

Lance’s eyes brightened as he moved across the floor with Keith, barely even thinking about the moves anymore. All he could think about was the guy in front of him. He shrieked as Lance suddenly spun him out but he didn’t stumble, spinning himself back into Lance with ease as the song came to a close. Their chests heaved as they gasped for breath through their laughter.

‘’You didn’t tell me you could dance!” Lance said, playfully shoving Keith.

‘’I may or may not have taken classes in the Garrison. Shiro’s idea, he said it’d be good to join an extracurricular to meet others.’’ The next song began, a slower one. Keith’s arms moved to drape around Lance’s neck who moved his to lay softly on Keith’s hips. The pair swayed with the other couples under the dimmed ballroom lights.

‘’And you chose ballroom dance?’’

‘’Yeah. It was actually kind of fun.’’ Keith added, turning away from Lance slightly in embarrassment.

‘’I learnt from my abuelita. She taught me the salsa once because she said it’d help me catch all the girls,’’ Lance laughed fondly at the memory before adding. ‘’She didn’t know it’d help me get the guys too.’’

Keith chuckled at Lance’s joke, trying to hide the small gasp he made hearing Lance say he wasn’t straight. The pair continued dancing way into the night, the other couples slowly dispersing until there were only a few, including Allura and Lalayla. Lance smirked at Allura across the room who caught his eye, giving Lance her own encouraging thumbs up. Seeing Lance’s smirk change into a bright laugh, Keith turned his head to see Allura and his heart clenched slightly.

‘’You still like her, don’t you?’’  Lance looked at Keith in confusion before he actually realised what he meant.

‘’Allura? God no, she’s like my sister. She means a lot to me but not like that. Plus, she’s really gay. Like really really gay. Like real- ‘’

‘’Okay!” Keith said, laughing. “I get it!”

“No but seriously, she’s been through so much and I just want her to have someone that makes her happy.” Lance nodded over to the pair, so Keith turned around to see Allura’s flushed cheeks as Lalayla pressed a kiss to her cheek. “And I think she has.” Keith laughed quietly, staring up at Lance before he spoke quietly.

“I think I have too.”

Lance ignored the drop in his stomach, biting back the wince. But he couldn’t help the glimmer of warmth that heated it too, a spark of hope.

“Oh really? And who would that be, Mr Broody Emo?”

Keith’s heart sped up, his mouth drying up as he felt the word crawling up his throat.

‘’Y-‘’

Keith was knocked to the ground, his head pounding as he groaned and coughed. His vision blurred and the noises around him had turned into muffled rumbles and buzzes. But he could smell the distinct smell of smoke.

‘’-Eith? Keith?” His eyes opened as Lance’s urgency pierced through the noises ringing in his ears; but the light burned, and his head ached, so he immediately closed them again. Now, he was able to hear the sounds of screams, loud crashes and bangs and something that sounded vaguely like Shiro’s hand powering up. He forced himself to open his eyes through the pain and through the blur, he could see Lance in front of him, his lip bleeding and his head bruised and singed. In front of them was Shiro, warding off as many of the Druids as he could by himself as the other paladins ran to the castle.

“Mm- what happened?” He mumbled, his head lolling to the side as Lance tried to hold him up. Keith could feel his hands shaking in his hair.

“The Galra attacked, buddy.” Lance said, voice quivering as he flinched away from an oncoming druid. Keith watched in horror as it approached, but Shiro managed to knock it down swiftly, turning back to the others he was fending off. He couldn’t last much longer alone. “Look, you’re hurt really bad, Keith. I need to get you back to the castle and into a pod.”

Keith shook his head, groaning at the pain it caused.

“No, I-I need to fight…”

“Nope, nuh uh, not happening. I’m taking you back!”

“Lance, the others are back with the lions! Go!” Shiro yelled. The yellow lion bellowed somewhere in the distance as Lance picked Keith up, one arm underneath his legs and the other cradling his back. Keith laughed slowly.

“What are you laughing at?” Lance asked, pushing his way through the debris of the palace. The place was suddenly completely deserted, most of the surviving civilians being ushered to Allura’s castle.

“L-look who’s doing the cradling now.” Lance laughed at Keith’s slurred words, jumping over a druid’s limp body.

“Promise I won’t forget this one.”

“Nah but at this rate, I probably will.” Lance didn’t reply, but Keith knew he heard him wince in fear.

As Lance fended off as many druids as he could without a weapon, Keith’s head started to clear and his sight became more focused. Shuffling in Lance’s hold, he looked up at him, staring at the determination on his face.

“Lance put me down, I can help.”

“Wh-Keith, I’m pretty sure you’ve broken an arm.” Lance’s words seemed to alert his brain and Keith hissed as he suddenly felt the biting pain in his arm. Through gritted teeth, he continued.

“I’m fine, Lance. Let me help.” An explosion somewhere in the distance made Lance flinch, ducking his head down next to Keith’s who could smell his shampoo and the smoke. Sighing, Lance nodded before slowly dropping Keith onto his own feet. He stumbled slightly, Lance’s hand going out to catch him but he regained his balance quickly. “See. Perfectly fine-“

“Keith!”

He heard it before he saw it. A loud whir that assaulted his senses. Through the corner of his eye he could see a bright, harsh light and when he turned, the galra had already pulled the trigger. He watched as some sort of sound wave escaped the gun, everything around him happening in slow motion as he turned his body away and waited. Waited for the crushing pain to take over until he felt completely numb and then nothing at all.

But none of that happened.

Instead, he felt himself shake and the pain in his head return but nothing as serious as what that gun should have done to him. Slowly, he opened his eyes and turned back to the Galra that now lay limp on the floor. Keith furrowed his eyebrows before looking in front of him. When he did look down, he gasped, dropping to his knees immediately. He didn’t pay attention to the decreasing number of druids around him as the lions attacked, or the numerous shouts of his fellow paladins in his earpiece. All he could pay attention to was Lance’s crumpled body in front of him.

Keith’s entire body froze. All he could do was look at Lance, too scared to find out if…

Lance lay completely still. The blood on his lip had dried but Keith could see the dark purple and blue tinges covering his torso underneath his sparkling suit. His hands lay completely limp, black soot covering them and at least one of his legs had been broken from what Keith could see.

Soon, the druids were gone. They either lay around the debris, mangled and lifeless or had retreated at some point.

But Keith lay in the aftermath with Lance for forever until he heard Pidge shout his name.

“Keith! Is Lance okay?”

And just like that, Keith’s brain went into overdrive. His hands were all over Lance, being careful not to damage him anymore than he already was. He ignored how much he seemed to shake, bringing his head down to Lance’s chest lightly. He waited. And waited until-

A beat.

A slow one, but a beat none the less and Keith gasped.

“H-he’s alive but… Pidge he… He took a hit f-for me and- and I-“

“Oh God…”

Keith didn’t even notice the tears pouring down his face until one landed on Lance’s bruised cheek. But once he did, he cried even more, sniffling and wailing as he tried to speak.

“C-come o-on Lance. D-don’t d-d-die p-please…”

“Lance!” Keith looked up through his tears to find Allura, dropping to her knees and staring in shock.

“A-Allura he’s not waking up I c-cant lose him I-“ Allura grabbed Keith’s hand over Lance’s body and looked him in the eye.

“Keith. I promise we will not let you lose him, okay? None of us will lose him.” Keith nodded weakly, his eyes looking back down at Lance. “Come on. We need to get him in blue as gently as possible; it’s the safest way to get him back to the castle.”

Keith felt completely numb as he carefully lifted Lance, trying his best not to jostle the paladin. Allura helped and together they managed to get him onto the floor of the blue lion. Keith could feel the warm concern of the lion and Allura spoke up as she began piloting.

“He’ll be okay, Blue. Don’t worry.”

Something else nudged at Keith’s mind, an incessantly constant feeling and Keith knew immediately what it was. As he lay there, a hand on Lance’s cheek he answered.

“I know, Red. I know. “

\--

When they got to the castle, Keith had watched in complete silence as Lance was placed into a pod. He’d turned away as Coran had to cut the suit off of him, refusing to look at the deep swirls of blue and black colouring his body.

He’d outright refused at first when Allura demand he get in a pod too, telling him he’d broken an arm and had a severely bad concussion that could cause serious damage. He’d wanted to stay by Lance’s pod and be there when he woke up so he could yell at him about how stupid he’d been. How careless and dumb he’d decided to be just to save him. Eventually, Pidge had broken down, telling him to get into the god damn pod so she didn’t have to fear losing another brother and Matt had held her so close that Keith got into the pod next to Lance.

As he sat there, waiting for the rush of cold air to take him over Keith turned to look at Lance beside him one last time. His bloodied face was the last thing he saw before the cold darkness of the pod took over.

\--

“He should be waking up soon. Right?”

“Yes, the pod says he’ll be waking up any moment now. In fact, he’s probably beginning to wake as we speak!”

Lance could hear Allura and Hunk somewhere in front of him, too far out of reach for him to answer but close enough to hear them. He could feel his head was lighter and there was no more pain in his chest, but he still felt like utter hell. Forcing himself to wake, Lance’s senses started to come back slowly, one by one. The low hiss of the pod sounded and then he was falling forward, his eyes not even open yet. He waited for the hard thud of the infirmary floor but instead was met with a soft chest and arms wrapping tightly around his waist. When he looked up, he found himself looking up into deep purple eyes and he smiled.

“Well hey there,” He said, his voice scratchy. Keith looked completely taken aback, staring at Lance with absolute disbelief and Lance looked at him back with concern, his hands coming up to grip Keith’s shoulders. “Keith?”

And suddenly, the arms around his waist had gone and they were wrapped around his back, grabbing at the pod suit like it was the first thing they’d ever felt. Keith’s hair tickled Lance’s cheek as he buried his face into the crook of Lance’s neck and he could feel wetness as Keith cried. Lance sighed into the hug and wrapped his own arms around Keith, forcing his own tears back as he gripped onto him.

“We’ll leave you guys to it for a moment. We’ll come back to check on Lance in about 10 minutes.” The pair ignored Shiro who smiled, ushering the others out with Allura and Lalayla.

After what felt like an eternity, Keith pulled back from Lance who gasped.

“What? What are you gasping at?”

“Y-you’ve got a… a scar. Right there,” Lance muttered, tracing the pink line that ran across Keith’s chin. He froze under the touch momentarily before he pushed his face further into Lance’s hand, holding his wrist. 

“Lance, I- “Suddenly, Keith froze. His gaze hardened and he lightly shoved Lance away. “What the hell were you thinking!” Lance took a step back, shock filling his features before his own face hardened.

“I did the right thing, Keith. I wasn’t going to let that thing hurt you!”

“Well you should have!” Keith shouted. “Lance, I… You died Lance.” He froze under Keith’s stare.

“What?”

“Y-you died. Twice, Lance. You died twice in the pod and I was there each time. I had to watch as Coran dragged your body out of the pod and brought you back before chucking you back in.” Lance stayed silent, unsure what to say. “We lost you. I lost you.”

Finally, Lance spoke up.

“Look, I- I’m sorry you had to go through that, Keith but… But I don’t regret it.”

“Why! Why couldn’t you just let me take the god damn hit?”

“Because I love you!?” Lance gasped, surprised at his own abrupt confession. Keith watched with wide eyes as Lance sighed and continued. “Because maybe, I’m selfish enough that sacrificing my own life was better than watching the guy I love die.”

Keith looked at Lance who closed his eyes, waiting for Keith to hit him or walk away. Instead, he felt a hand take his and when he looked, Keith was there, a small smile ghosting his lips.

“I love you too.”

Lance laughed breathlessly, a hand coming up to Keith’s cheek. Slowly, the pair moved closer together until their lips collided and Lance sighed. His hand moved to wrap around Keith’s shoulders and Keith snaked his arms around Lance’s waist. It was similar to their other kiss, but entirely different at the same time, Keith thought. It was still Lance’s soft lips but this time, there was no urgency. This time, Keith wanted to remember every second and he could feel Lance smile, so Keith bit his lip which made him gasp and then Keith was laughing too.

They broke apart, laughing quietly at each other in disbelief. When Keith looked closer at Lance, he stopped and brought a hand up to trace something on his chin.

“You’ve got a scar too.” Lance laughed.

“Looks like even without the suits we match.” Keith sighed, slapping Lance’s shoulder playfully who kissed his cheek in response. Keith turned, capturing Lance’s lips who melted into the kiss once again. Neither of them seemed to hear the infirmary doors slide open. Instead, they continued kissing until an awkward cough pulled them away from each other. Shiro stood, his hand scratching at his neck with the others behind him. Pidge smirked, pointing at the two.

“This… This is much better than the fighting. Keep it up,” she said, Hunk nodding in agreement. Lance winked.

“Don’t mind if I do,” he said, sweeping down to kiss Keith’s cheek again who laughed. Pidge rolled her in eyes in fond exasperation and Matt smiled. Suddenly, the infirmary doors slid open again, Allura hurtling her way in, Lalayla holding her hand as they giggled. Everyone turned to the pair and Allura coughed, Lance’s eyebrows turning up in an amused shock.

“You gonna introduce us, Princess?”

“Right, of course.” Allura stepped forward, a hand coming to lay on Lalayla’s back. “Keith, Lance. This is princess Lalayla of planet Miorna. She’s decided to stay with us on the ship to fight the Galra head on.” She leaned into Allura’s side who blushed, leaning her head onto her shoulder.

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Lalayla. I’m sure you’ll treat Allura well,” he said, making Allura blush even more when Lalayla laughed before replying.

“Don’t worry, I will.”

\--

Later that night, Lance and Keith sat on the deck, staring out at the planets and stars around them. Keith sighed, resting his head on Lance’s shoulder before he felt the warmth of a hand intertwining with his. The others had retreated to their rooms long ago, Lance winking and giving Allura a thumbs up when he watched her take Lalayla with her. Everything around them was quiet, both of them listening to the other’s breathing and the slow beat of their heart. They were both alive and that was all that mattered.

After a while, Keith looked up at Lance, breaking the silence.

“Promise me you’ll never do something stupid like that again?”

“Ehh I’m not making any promises.”

“Lance.” Keith’s voice was like stone, his grip on Lance’s hand tightening. “I’m being serious.”

“…I promise. But you have to promise too.”

“…Promise.”

Neither noticed the other cross their fingers behind their back.

**Author's Note:**

> There you have it! Allura and Lance's friendship may or may not have been a complete mirror of mine and my best friends relationship and I didn't realise for ages that I'd even done it. He's been there for me through loads of crap and he was the first person I came out as a lesbian to so yeah, I'm very grateful for him. 
> 
> Anyway, thank you for reading this shamble and I hope you enjoyed it. If you did you could like, I don't know, leave a lil kudos? Maybe even a lil comment if you're feeling extra generous?


End file.
